Sameer was coached by his sister, Shruti, a high school student and three-time bee contestant.

The last seven Canadian contestants were eliminated earlier Friday for flubbing such words as accordatura (the notes to which a stringed instrument is tuned), tonneau (an early style of touring car) and otacariasis (an infestation of the ear with mites).

"Seven up, seven down," said Pam Penny of Ancaster, Ont. Her daughter, Veronica, was one of the seven.

Frank Neuhauser, 94, who won the first bee in 1925 with gladiolus (a flower), said : "It was a lot easier back then." He only had to beat seven others; Mishra vanquished 287. " I'd never make it now," Neuhauser said.

He won $500, and was honoured with a parade in his hometown, Louisville, Ky.